Song of the Tribes

Someone shared this poem, by Patricia Monaghan, in a group I facilitate, and I keep reading it over and over again.

The Old Song of the Tribes

The sky draws its curtain
across the season. Any day
now it will snow, curtaining

the footprints in the soft earth
we made today, but any day in this life
or another, if I meet you, the earth’s

pull will be upon us, the mark of the forest
will be on us, indelible handprints, birthmarks.
We will know each other in city or forest,

despite continents and oceans, we will know
each other as much, as little as
we know ourselves, as much as we know

what the mind is, what the body
can be. Amidst
all the changing, our souls will remain
true to each other. The rest can be mist.

It might be a loose correlation or a bad poetic interpretation, but this poem makes me think about the state of the world, and how far away it feels like we are sometimes to the connection she is talking about; that connection with the earth, with each other, with ourselves. Guns, trade wars, national security, economic goals, what this political party thinks, what that political party thinks, climate change, fashion trends, movie reviews, the latest celeb news…when you read the headlines these days it would seem the world is set to collapse in paradox at any moment. You can read an article about what an Olympic figure skater plans to do next followed by one about North Korea’s nuclear plans followed by one about the latest extreme weather event followed by one about the pros and cons of the latest smart phone to hit the market. Frankly, it is paralyzing to even begin to think about how to act, how to interpret what’s going on, how to help, how to make a difference. It’s overwhelming to wrap a single human mind around what can possibly be done to impact the world for good. So why bother? Might as well just roll with it and get that latest smart phone and see what the Kardashians are up to, right?

Amidst all the changing, our souls will remain true to one another. The rest will be mist.

The news would have us believe that is surely the answer – read all the big headlines, throw up your hands, and go buy something. After all, then you are informed AND you are helping the economy. One must know what’s going on with everything all the time and keep on feeding the economy…it’s the only way. Right?

Amidst all the changing, our souls will remain true to one another. The rest will be mist.

But we don’t, and in fact, we can’t. The mind doesn’t have the capacity to contain such an onslaught of information every single day, and I’m of the opinion that it isn’t doing anyone any favors to try to keep up with it all. We live on a finite planet that can’t sustain infinite growth. That’s not to say that we should ignore what’s happening – that won’t get us anywhere either. But we need to dig deeper into the root of this ongoing war – with ourselves and with those who are different than us – that’s happening in the world. What if we could heal the separation of the tribe of humanity?

Amidst all the changing, our souls will remain true to one another. The rest will be mist.

There are no easy answers. But what if we pick one tiny thing to focus on and really focus on it? What if we let ourselves be drawn to the issues that stand out to us and truly educate ourselves on them? What if we let ‘knowing it all’ and ‘doing it all’ go? What if we do something that feels right instead of nothing because it all feels like too much? What if by doing that little something we remain true to what our soul wants? What if we make a point to ask the question, “what is it like to be you?” before acting? What if the rest becomes mist and it turns out to be a more beautiful mist that we knew was possible? A simple question, a tiny thing in comparison to the vast web of options for action, could perhaps have the power to change the world.